First Date
by LadyRachel18
Summary: Santino Marella wishes to ask the newest Diva on the roster, Emma, out on a date. But unfortunately, he doesn't have the courage for it. Can his friend Sheamus help him? Will he be able to ask Emma out? And if she says yes, how will the date go?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**One-sided Feelings And Love Advice From An Irishman**

For a little while now, Santino Marella had a problem.

But not like it was something too serious, not that. He didn't get into trouble, he was just fine. For many years, he had been wrestling with the WWE, the biggest wrestling company in the world. It was a childhood dream coming true. There had been ups, there had been down, but he had nothing to complain about really.

Santino was happy with the WWE.

For a couple of months, he had been wrestling alone, unfortunately he jobbed for a couple of times. But then, he had been called by Vince to appear in a NXT show; that was the part of the WWE were the rookies were. Those men and women were the future of the WWE, and he was glad Vince finally managed to contract some people with real talent. So as you can guess, Santino was quite happy with this opportunity.

He was scheduled for a mixed gender tag team match, and that's where he met her.

Emma.

Now that girl had some real talent; Santino found out about that when they were training for the upcoming match. When he was talking with the rookies backstage, Santino got to know more about the brand-new NXT Diva. She had wrestled in numerous independent circuits for three years, including the well-known all-women wrestling promotion Shimmer Women Athletes. For most women out there it was nearly impossible to wrestle for the WWE, but she, along with some other women in NXT, made it. She started from scratch, now here she was. Another interesting fact about Emma was that she came all the way from Australia. Now that was quite something; that meant she would be the first ever Diva from Australia to debut in the WWE. Santino didn't have that much time to hang around with her, they had to concentrate a lot on their training and at the end they were worn out. But sometimes, they did have a little bit of time after all to talk with each others. At first he noticed that Emma frowned a little bit when she heard his slightly awkward English, but later she was able to smile about it. She herself had the typical Australian accent, but it was not that heavy. It was lighter, but it fitted her perfectly. Emma was a really nice girl.

After the night of the wrestling match, Emma and Santino became somewhat closer. They became more open to each other and cracked jokes now and then. Hanging around with Emma was really nice, they got along great. Eventually, the two became friends.

But unfortunately, Santino had to go back to the main roster.

Immediately after he received that phone call, he felt sad. If he would go back to the main roster, that meant he wouldn't see Emma in a long while. But he knew he couldn't protest against Vince's will, so with a minor pain in his heart, Santino returned to the main roster.

But after a long while, he received some really good news.

Emma was moving to the main roster!

When he heard he would be teamed up with her once more, he was so happy he could die. That news absolutely made his day, nothing could bring him down anymore. He counted down the days to the day he would see her again, like a child would count down the days for Christmas.

And finally, that day was here.

The long lost friends were reunited at the airport where the staff of WWE would be heading off to their next destination to have their next show. From the moment they saw each other, they greeted each other with a hug, like they have known each other for years. In the airplane, they talked non-stop, they had so much to talk about... much to the annoyance of their colleagues who were sitting close to them.

But now, this was the problem.

After Emma moved to the main roster, they had more time to spend with each other. And during that time... Santino developed feelings for her. During the time he was hanging around with her, he noticed how beautiful she actually was. She had long sandy blond hair with dyed brown streaks, blue eyes, sun tanned skin and a personality to match with her looks. She was funny, nice and had a lot of common with Santino. And the way she danced... Dancing was Emma's passion, but unbeknownst to her, she wasn't really that good at it. But that was alright; the way she danced was funny to Santino. The Italian wrestler enjoyed being with her and took advantage of every moment they were able to spend with each other.

And now, he wanted to go a step further.

He wanted to ask Emma to go out with him on a date.

Yes, a real date. You know, going out at night, going to a park, movie theater or a chic expensive restaurant. Santino would love to do that with Emma, he wanted to make her happy and give her a night she would never forget. She was such an amazing girl, he would love to go out on a date with her.

But he couldn't do it... he couldn't ask her.

Santino was not the only guy Emma would hang around with; she would also have chit-chats with the likes of Batista, Cody Rhodes and some other successful male wrestlers. Every moment she spend with those guys, Santino felt his insecurity rising. What if Emma didn't have romantic feelings for him? What if she wanted to remain friends with him? What if he wasn't... attractive enough to her? Would she be in love with another wrestler? If so, Santino's world would shatter. But he knew he could only be sure if he'd ask Emma out for a date. But he didn't have the courage...

What should he do...?

* * *

'Something wrong, fella?'

A male voice with an Irish accent made Santino snap out of his thoughts. He looked around him. Son of a gun... he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice his colleagues leaving the locker room. But apparently, he wasn't alone.

Sheamus, a tall Irish man with spiky red hair and a biker's mustache with the same hair color put his hand on the Italian wrestler's shoulder. Yup, the WWE was melting pot of wrestlers with all kinds of nationalities alright. Sheamus was one of the more successful wrestlers; after being injured he had finally returned and competed in the latest Royal Rumble. Santino had seen him hanging around with Emma once. When he saw them sharing a laugh, his self-assurance hit rock bottom. It was known that Sheamus was well-known with the ladies... Santino wouldn't stand a chance against him.

The Irish wrestler sat down next to his colleague. From the looks of him, he had already replaced his wrestling gear with his casual clothes. 'You've been dreamin' from the moment you arrived in the locker room.' he said with his thick Irish accent. 'What's the matter, Santino?'

'Well...' For a moment, Santino wanted to tell Sheamus the truth, about his feelings for Emma and how much he wanted to ask her to go out with him on a date, but hadn't got the slightest clue to ask her how. But just when he was about to tell him all about that, he took back his words. What if Sheamus would make fun of him? Then his self-assurance would go even deeper than rock bottom... if that was possible. 'Nothing.' Santino said. 'There is nothing wrong. It's alright, Sheamus.'

'No no, fella.' Sheamus shook his head and grinned. 'There's somethin' about you, 'Tino. I can see right through you; you're troubled. No, tell uncle Sheamus what's going on.'

'N-no. I'm fine, seriously.'

'Come on 'Tino, we're friends, right? You can tell me anythin'.'

That was true, Santino and Sheamus had been friends for quite a while. The Irish wrestler had been telling him some personal details about himself as well, so why wouldn't he trust him with his secret? And besides... since Sheamus was a bit of a lady's man, maybe he could give him a bit of advice! Santino decided to give it a shot.

'So... there's this girl I like...'

'Mmm-hm.'

'She's one of the Divas here... it's Emma. You know her, right?'

'Blond lass with brown streaks, bad dancin' skills and Australian accent? Yup, that's her, fella.'

'Well... I like her. Like... more than likes.' On this moment, Santino stared at the ground and twiddled with his thumbs. Would he quit the confession right now? But there was no point in stopping now. He already told him too much. He had no choice but to go on.

'I... I really want to go out on a date with her, but... I don't know how to ask her.'

'Wait. You wanna ask her out for a date, fella?'

'Exactly.'

Sheamus chuckled. Dang, this is just what Santino was afraid of. He could already feel his self-assurance sinking even deeper. Now there would be zero chance he would ever have the courage to ask Emma out on a date...

'Ah yes...' Sheamus nodded. 'That girl would look fine with you alright, fella!'

Santino blinked in surprise. So he wasn't making fun of him? Then why was he chuckling? 'Those ladies out there will be really charmed by you if you play it well, Santino. You're a nice guy, I'm pretty sure it will go well.'

'But Sheamus... I don't know how to ask her out!'

'Alright then, listen up fella.'

Santino nodded. Some dating advice would come out really good at this moment.

'First advice; make sure you can be yourself around her. Find out whether she's actually your type or not.'

Well that was easy. Emma and him had a lot of things in common, so she was definitely his type of girl.

'Second advice: be as romantic as possible. Give her flowers or chocolates or whatever. Go to the movies or a fancy restaurant, it doesn't matter what you do, as long as it's romantic.'

That was exactly what Santino was planning; a movie and a restaurant. That would work out, that was romantic.

'And at last but not least; third advice. This might be the most important advice of all, fella. Make sure to make it the best night of her life.'

Sheamus gave the Italian wrestler an encouraging pat on his shoulder. 'I know you can do that, 'Tino.' You're a nice guy, she will like you for sure!'

'Really?' Santino could feel his self-assurance slightly rising again. It wasn't much, but the Irishman's words gave him a bit more courage. Would he stand a chance after all?

'I'm convinced, fella.' Sheamus smiled and nodded. That was all Santino needed to bring back his self-assurance. He could do it! If Sheamus, one of the biggest ladies man of the locker room, said he would stand a chance of asking Emma out on a date... then it must be true! Grinning from ear to ear and beaming with self-assurance, Santino got up.

'Thanks you so much, Sheamus... Thanks you so much!'

'You're welcome. Now, go get her, fella!'

'I will, I will!' Chuckling in excitement, Santino left the locker room. Sheamus looked on.

'Good luck, fella.'

* * *

Tonight he had the perfect opportunity to ask Emma that one important question.

After WWE had finished their latest show, the wrestlers traveled towards their hotel. After a tiring wrestling match, the only things you could wish for were a hot shower and a long nice sleep.

Santino was worn out, but he wasn't planning to go to sleep just yet. Usually he would immediately go to bed, but tonight, even after the match, he could still feel the adrenaline in his body. He was finally going to ask Emma out for a date.

The chat with Sheamus in the locker room gave him the right amount of courage to do it. In the past he was thinking of instead of asking it to Emma face to face, he would write her a letter with the question in it. When he looked back on that, he shook his head.

Man up, Santino!

There she was, standing in the large hallway of the hotel, at the reception counter. The prettiest woman he had ever seen in his life; Emma. She too was worn out by her match, but even then, she looked so pretty. Santino assumed that during her career in the independent circuit she was used to staying up late at night, even after wrestling in a match. She was talking to the lady behind the counter. The lady smiled, nodded and handed over the Australian Diva a hotel room key. If she would go sleep right away, Santino's chance of asking her out would be wasted. He had to be quick.

Emma walked away from the counter, heading towards the elevators. Hurry, Santino! He quickly walked towards the counter and asked the woman for the key of his room. She turned around and looked for it; apparently, she had trouble finding it, because it took pretty long. During that time, Santino was biting his lower lip and tapped the wood of the counter, he was getting inpatient beyond belief. What if Emma was already in her room now?!

But finally, the woman found Santino's key. When she handed it over to him, he practically ripped it out of her hand and ran to the elevators. But then he changed his mind; all of the elevators were occupied, he had to take the stairs. As if he was chased by the devil himself, Santino ran upstairs. But hold on... on which floor was Emma's room?! He mentally slapped himself on the forehead.

At each floor he arrived, he looked around, hoping his would catch a glimpse of the Australian Aphrodite. But for the next four floors, he had no success. But when he reached the fifth floor, completely out of breath, he spotted her.

Emma was at the end of the hallway, about to enter her room.

With his heart pounding in his sore throat and his lungs nearly ran out of air, Santino managed to call out her name.

'Emma!'

It was louder than he meant to be, but Emma looked up. She noticed him. Hallelujah.

'Santino?' she asked, raising an eyebrow. Even though she was standing in a little distance, Santino could hear her sweet Australian accent. Dang, he loved that accent so much.

'There... you... are...!' Santino panted, his lungs pushed out the last bit of air he had left. He walked towards the Diva, a trickle of sweat ran down his temple. First a wrestling match, then running on five floors of stairs... so much for asking a girl out, son of a gun!

'Are you alright?' Emma asked with a slightly worried voice when Santino reached her, putting her hand on his shoulder. From up close, he could hear her accent even better. That lovely accent... 'Yeah... yeah, I'm alright.' he said, trying to catch his breath. 'Just... had a little run, that is all. Good for the cardio, you know!' He let out a nervous chuckle when he caught some breath and stood up straight.

'So...' the Italian wrestler said. 'Going to sleeps, huh?'

'Uhm... yes, I am.'

'Ah, nice, very nice. But... Emma?'

'What is it, Santino?'

This was the moment. There was no turning back now. He had approached Emma, he had to finish what he started. Because if he would stop now, this could turn really awkward and send his self-assurance back to rock bottom. Santino had to ask it. Now.

'I... I was... I was wondering... If... I was wondering if...'

Santino could feel his voice getting stuck in his throat. Emma frowned, not understanding the situation. The expression her face only made him feel even more nervous. He couldn't do it... he couldn't do it! Santino's self-assurance was sinking once more, but suddenly he remembered Sheamus' words.

_'I know you can do that, 'Tino.' You're a nice guy, she will like you for sure!'_

Those words had a magical effect; they made the self-assurance return again. He shouldn't give up now! Taking a deep breath, Santino found his voice back.

'I was wondering if... you would like to go out on a date with me.'

He had to force those last words out of his throat with force.

It was quiet between the Italian wrestler and the Australian Diva.

Emma's face expressed sheer surprise. That didn't make Santino feel right... what was going through her head right now? Was it just like he expected? Wasn't she attracted to him, did she already have a crush on someone else? The silence was nearly killing him with nerves.

But then, Emma smiled. A soft blush emerged from her cheeks.

'Sure! Why not?'

Santino could feel all his blood pumping towards his head in a second. His heart had never beat this fast before, it was beating so fast. His hands were slightly shaking. She said yes... he couldn't believe it... she said yes!

'R-Really?' he asked, his voice filled with disbelief. 'You... You want go out with me?!' 'Of course.' Emma replied, letting out a giggle. 'You are a great guy, I'd really like to go out with you!'

On that moment, Santino was so happy he could jump into the air in joy. If he was living in a cartoon world, he could've jumped through the roof! Emma wanted to go out with him! He wanted to shout that out loud, he didn't care if he would wake up the entire hotel. The prettiest woman in the business wanted to go out on a date with him and everyone should know that.

'Wonderful!' he exclaimed. 'So... how about a movie and a dinner?'

'Sounds great!'

'Tomorrow night? Could that be possible?' Tomorrow all the wrestlers had a day off, so that would be a good opportunity.

'Sure! I'm looking forward to it already!'

'That's good. I'll make reservations tomorrow!'

'Awesome!'

Santino softly chuckled in shyness. 'So... see you tomorrow night, then?

'Tomorrow night. Thank you so much, Santino... you are really a great guy.'

Santino could feel his cheeks and ears turn red and couldn't help grinning like an idiot. She thought he was a great guy... deep inside, he hoped that she would think he was more than that.

'Good night, Santino.' Suddenly, Emma wrapped her arms around Santino's waist and pulled him close to her, pulling him in for a hug. Feeling her close to him made Santino's cheeks and ears feel like they were on fire, they were so warm. His grin got bigger, he looked like a moron. But in less than five seconds, she already let go of him again. Emma was smiling from ear to ear and for one moment, Santino could swear she had a loving look in her eyes. 'You're awesome.' she said. Then she turned around, opened the door of her hotel room and walked inside. The door closed with a loud click.

Santino was standing on his spot like he was frozen.

But he was far from frozen. On the inside, he was burning with happiness.

Santino turned around and walked to his hotel room, only he didn't feel like he was walking. He felt like he was floating, like he was in a dream. Tonight, a dream came true. He finally had the courage to ask Emma out on a date and she said yes. The woman of his dreams said yes.

When he was lying in his bed at night, he couldn't fall asleep. He was so thrilled, he couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Tomorrow night would be best night of his life.


	2. Go To The Movies, They Said

**Chapter 2**

**Go To The Movies, They Said...**

The next morning Santino woke up with mildly stinging, puffy eyes.

He couldn't sleep for nearly the entire night, he was so excited for tomorrow. But he was also nervous... what would happen? How would the movie and the dinner go? He hoped from the bottom nothing would go wrong. During the night, the most horrible scenarios played through his head; another guy (who was more handsome than he was) showing up and stealing Emma away from him, Emma becoming bored with him and leaving the date... it made him feel sick with nervousness. But deep inside, Santino knew he didn't had to worry. He remembered the words his_ mama _back in Italy used to say to him when he was a little boy.

_'Don't be nervous for things that might not happen in the future, Santino. Be nervous when those things actually happen.'_

Mama was right. Right now, everything was alright. Emma was interested in the date and he still had time to make the reservation for the dinner.

Santino sat up and yawned. Despite all the thoughts he had last night, he did manage to get some sleep. And boy, what a dream he had. The main character in the dream was Emma. Of course. Either it was him, or Emma was even more prettier in his dreams. She was wearing a long pink dress that fitted her perfectly and she was smiling at him. The dream was short, but it was amazing.

He got up from his bed and scratched the back of his head. What he needed right now, was a nice hot shower. Maybe if he would do that, his eyes wouldn't be stinging. He walked towards the bathroom, took off his pajamas, twisted the tap and got under the shower. It worked; his eyes became less stingy and he became less sleepy. He stood under the hot water until it got colder. He didn't want to brush his teeth just yet; he was going downstairs to have breakfast. When he got out of the shower, he dried himself off, put on his clothes and left his room. While he went downstairs to the hotel's dining room, he hoped he would see Emma, but she was nowhere to be seen. Was she still asleep? Maybe. If she was, then let her be. That beautiful girl needed her sleep, Santino didn't want her to be all sleepy when they were at the date. He walked into the dining hall, where he was greeted with the smell of fresh toast. His mouth already started to water, he couldn't wait to get some toast with strawberry jam. He grabbed his breakfast and joined his friends at the dining table. They chatted and shared a laugh, but Santino's had no idea what they were talking about; he was daydreaming about the date of a lifetime.

Later on in the morning, he joined Sheamus to work out at the hotel's gym. Even if a wrestler has a day off, he would still go work out.

'So.' Sheamus said while he was lifting the weights. 'Did you ask her?'

'What?' Santino blinked his eyes. Even during the workout, he was daydreaming. He wanted to look good for Emma, he hoped that his muscles would get bigger after this and she would notice it.

'The date, fella! Did you ask her out?' the Irishman exclaimed.

Santino nodded. Sheamus had been right after all; he managed to do it, he played it right. 'Yup. I did it. She want to go out with me!'

Suddenly, he heard a loud bang. Sheamus had put the weights back to their place and walked over to the Italian wrestler. He was grinning from ear to ear and patted him on the back.

'That's amazing! I told you, fella! I told you she wanted you!' he said happily. 'So, what are you planning to do with her?'

'Just a movie and a romantic dinner, that's all.'

The Irish ginger grinned and nodded. 'Very well, fella. You did a good job.'

'Thanks, Sheamus. Couldn't have done it without you!'

After the workout session, Santino wanted to return to his hotel room to make the reservation for the restaurant. He had the perfect restaurant in mind; it was an Italian restaurant, reviews on the Internet said the food was delicious. He hoped that Emma also liked Italian food. The chance was big; he heard her mentioning once that she liked lasagna.

He hadn't seen Emma for the whole morning, the afternoon had already started. Was she still sleeping? He doubted it. Maybe he could ask one of her friends where she was. When he was walking back to the hotel room, he saw Natalya, fellow WWE Diva and Emma's friend, walking down the hallway. Maybe she knew where she was.

'Natalya!' Santino called out when he approached her. 'Have you seen Emma?'

The Hart Family Diva nodded. 'Yeah, I did. She told me she went out to go shopping, she said she wanted to look for a nice outfit.'

A nice outfit? Could it be that... she went out shopping for an outfit for a date? Santino could smile again at that moment. She went out to pick the outfit for the night of her life, Santino knew she had good taste. He wondered how she would look like; either way, he was pretty sure she would look even more beautiful than she already was.

'Ah, that's good. I was getting worried.' the Italian wrestler said.

'You know, Emma has been talking a lot about you lately, Santino.' Natalya said.

'Really? What did she say?' Would Emma have told Natalya that she had feelings for him as well? Santino hoped so.

'She said that you were a really nice guy with a great sense of humor. She also said she really enjoyed being with you. Emma's happy with you Santino, she likes you a lot!'

Santino could feel a warm feeling spreading across his stomach. If Emma enjoyed being with him so much... could it mean that... she loved him too?

'Uhm... Santino? Are you alright?' The Canadian Diva raised her eyebrow. Santino didn't realize that he was grinning like an idiot, with his eyes half-lidded and a blush coloring his cheeks red. He looked like an absolute moron.

'Y-yes!' Santino blinked his eyes and quickly shook his head, as if he was shaking himself awake. 'I'm fine, really! I'm just happy to hear that.'

'Yeah... I noticed that.'

* * *

'Yes, hello? Restaurante La Rosa Rossa? I'd like to make reservation for tonight.'

'For two, please.'

'At nine o'clock, if possible.'

'Perfect, thank you very much! _Grazie!_'

Santino put the phone back in place and smiled in satisfaction. The reservation had been made, he didn't have to worry about that anymore. He was lucky, too; tonight the restaurant was fully booked, they just had two spots left! Now that's some luck!

The Italian wrestler looked out of the window, looking at the landscape of the city. He was pretty sure there would be some good stores out there where Emma could buy her outfit for tonight. When he looked down at the street, he chuckled.

So the rumors may be true after all.

He saw two of WWE's most popular wrestlers, Bray Wyatt and current WWE Diva's Champion AJ Lee, walking out of the hotel. They were walking arm in arm, AJ had rested her head on Bray's shoulder. Santino had been hearing a lot of rumors about them lately; he knew they were close friends, but the rumors had it that they were just more than friends... so it was true after all. But Santino wouldn't rat them out, of course. He wasn't like that. These two had something beautiful going on, he would never ruin that. Besides, it looked like AJ had a lot of support from Bray lately; ever since her best friend Kaitlyn left the WWE, Bray had given AJ the comfort she needed the most. The comfort from a friend... or maybe even more than that.

He hoped that something beautiful would grow between him and Emma as well.

Suddenly, sleepiness kicked in. Santino felt how tired he actually was. He was so nervous last night, he barely had any sleep. Besides, he didn't have to do anything for the rest of the afternoon. He already had an outfit for tonight; a white blouse with jeans. Always classy, even if you would go out on a date.

Santino laid down on the hotel's bed and closed his eyes. A little nap would do him good, then at least he wouldn't be sleepy at the date. He wondered if Emma had already bought her outfit... how would she look like? With a smile on his face, Santino fell asleep...

How long had he been sleeping?

When Santino woke up, the room was already dark. He tried to find the button of the lamp on his nightstand; after missing it for three times, he finally found it and pressed on it. The light was turned on immediately and the room was dimly lit. He checked the time on his cell phone. Six o'clock. Son of a gun, did he sleep for that long?! Then Santino noticed he had received two texts. From Emma.

He slapped himself on the forehead. He didn't even hear his cell phone, how stupid! He tapped on the small screen two times and read the texts.

_'Hey Santino! Just bought a dress for tonight, is it alright if we meet at six o'clock? Please text me back! I'm really looking forward for the date :)'_

That text was send at three o'clock. Santino read the other text.

_'Hi, I haven't heard anything from you yet. But I will show up at six o'clock anyway, just want to let you know. See you tonight, Santino!'_

Instantly, Santino felt ashamed. He didn't answer her back over those hours... would she be mad at him? Would she still be interested in the date? In the text she said she would show up at six o'clock, that means she was still coming. But wait... right now it was six o'clock! Crap, she could be here any minute! The last bit of sleepiness Santino had faded away. He jumped up from his bed, opened his suit case, got out the blouse and jeans and put them on. But just when he was putting on his pair of jeans, he heard a knock on the door.

Could it be Emma?

'Just one moment!' Santino shouted when he hopped up and down to get his legs in the trouser legs. When he finally got his jeans on, he ran to the door, nearly tripping over his own feet. He opened the door and there she was.

Emma was even more beautiful than she was in Santino's dream. She had curled her hair and tied it up in a high ponytail, but some thin tresses hang loosely near her jaw line. She didn't wear too much make-up; pastel pink lipstick and light purple eye shadow. Her make-up fitted perfectly with her outfit. She was wearing a strapless purple dress and white high heels. She was so beautiful... it nearly left Santino speechless. He had never seen Emma like this before. He knew she had dressed like this for him, for him and him only... it only made him love her even more.

'Hi...' he said, nearly inaudible. 'Wow... look at you...' Santino's voice was filled with admiration to the brim.

'Hey!' the Australian beauty greeted back. 'I was getting worried about you, mate. You didn't answer your phone, was something wrong?'

'No, nothing was wrong. I was feeling sleepy and took a nap... I guess I've dozed off. I am so sorry, Emma!'

'It's alright.' Emma smiled at him. 'I was worried you might've lost interest in the date, and... I see you are not. That makes me happy.'

'Me? Lose interest in the date? Never, Emma!' Santino was truly ashamed for not answering her texts back, but the fact that she wasn't mad at him made everything alright. He felt the shame fading away.

'Well then... let's go?'

'Of course!' Santino couldn't believe it.

Their very first date was about to begin!

* * *

After Santino locked the door of his hotel room, he walked with Emma through the hallway, took the elevator downstairs and with walking through the hotel's large doors, they left the hotel. The full moon brightened the darkness, along with the many stars scattered across the dark blue night sky. It was the perfect night Santino could imagine for a date... but even though the night looked romantic, the temperature sure had drastically dropped. It was pretty warm when it was daytime, but now it felt like it was freezing. Santino could feel the goose bumps rising from his skin, he felt stupid for not bringing a coat. 'Are you cold?' he gently asked Emma. Because if she was, he wouldn't hesitate to go back to his hotel room and bring her the thickest coat he could find, just so she could stay warm in the cold night. 'No, no, I'm fine.' the Australian Diva replied. 'Thank you for asking, though.'

They soon got to Santino's rental car; since WWE Superstars had to travel all over the United States (and sometimes even over the world) mostly by plane, he couldn't take his car at home everywhere. So that's why he often rented a car when he was on the road. The car itself looked cheap, but at least it got himself on all the destinations he wanted to go. Santino walked towards the passenger's side at the front of the car and opened the car door. With a dressy gesture, he invited Emma to get in the car.

'Ladies first!' the Italian wrestler cheerfully said.

Emma giggled. 'Wow, Santino... I knew you were a nice guy, but I didn't know you could be such a gentleman!'

The Australian Diva got inside the car. Once she was inside, Santino closed the car door. That compliment made him blush from ear to ear. She thought he was a gentleman... he was doing it right! If he would keep up like this, this date would go flawless!

Santino opened the car door on the driver's side and got in. Immediately after he twisted the key, the radio switched on and the voice of an excited young man started to speak.

'And now, with a classic from the past, Blink-182 with 'First Date!''

Just before Santino wanted to turn down the volume, the introducing drums filled the silence in the car car, followed by the loud guitars. So apparently the car's previous owner had a taste for punk rock music; not exactly the kind of music Santino liked.

'Hey, Blink-182!' Emma exclaimed. 'I love that band! This is my favorite song, too!'

'Really?' Santino did have the intention to turn the radio off, but now that Emma had confessed this was her favorite song, he decided to leave it on. Turning it off just because he didn't like it was rude; it could take away Emma's interest in the date.

'Yeah.' the Australian Diva replied. 'But you can turn the radio off if you don't like it...'

'Oh no, no! It's alright!'

Santino switched gears and together with the prettiest Diva of the roster, he drove away from the hotel. The city looked really nice in daylight, but when it was night, it really came to life. Everywhere Santino looked, there were lights. Lights, lights and more lights. They came from the traffic lights, the lanterns, the windows of stores, the signs of other cars... it looked like the entire city was made of light! The Italian wrestler noticed that Emma was enjoying the sight too; she was staring out of the window with a dreamy smile on her face while humming to 'First Date'. Santino had never really liked punk rock music, but this song had caught his attention. While driving, he was listening to the lyrics and realized how ironic this was. This was indeed his very first date and he was nervous like hell, just like the person in the song. The realization made him chuckle.

The movie theater wasn't too far away, so the ride was rather short. Unfortunately for Emma, she couldn't finish listening to her favorite song. Santino drove into a parking lot not far from the movie theater. Once he found a spot to park his car, he shut off the engine, abruptly putting the song to an end.

'Here we are!' Santino said when the engine felt silent. He wasn't sure if Emma knew it, but his heart was pounding like crazy. He already could imagine sitting next to her while they were watching a romantic movie and enjoying some delicious popcorn. Would the movie theater be the place where they would share their first kiss? The thought of it turned Santino's cheeks red, they became so warm he thought they were on fire.

'Let's go!' Emma opened the car door and got out of the car. Santino did the same thing. He closed the car and together with Emma, he left the parking lot. His cheeks only turned even more red when he saw Emma looking at him and smiling.

'Who would've ever thought I would go out on a date with you, Santino?'

'Y-y-y-yeah, who would've thought that, huh?' The smile made the Italian wrestler nearly stumble over his own words.

After walking for a little while with Emma walking close to him, they arrived at the movie theater. The line was a bit long, so that gave Santino some time to look around and look at the film posters. There were many movies they could choose from; drama, comedy, action, animation, and most important of all... romance. But when his eye fell on the poster of a horror movie, Santino couldn't help but gulp in unease. The poster had the image of a demonic face cloaked in a dark shadow; not something that you would make you feel at ease. 'The Lake Demon', the title said. Horror movies were his least favorite thing in the world; he sure as hell hoped Emma wouldn't pick that. He had told her she could pick any movie, he was fine with every movie they had for people to see in here, but please Emma, don't pick that horror movie!

'Lot of movies, huh?' Santino said when they got closer to the ticket counter. 'I'm pretty sure one of these movies will match your interest for sure. How about 'A Night In Paris'? Or 'Guns and Explosions?' Or...'

'Two tickets for 'The Lake Demon', please!'

Santino had a smile on his face while he was talking, but when he heard Emma ordering the tickets for the horror movie, the smile froze into a grimace. His eyes were wide open.

'What.'

* * *

Sitting next to Emma in the half-full cinema, Santino had the feeling he could jump out of his seat and run away at any moment.

He should've told her that he had a bad experience with horror movies; when he was a little boy, his cousin Paolo showed him this movie where teenagers could ripped to pieces by a psychopath with a chainsaw, blood sprayed around like a fountain and the screams of the poor victims nearly deafened his ears. All the things he had seen in that movie had mentally scarred little Santino for life; since then, he refused to watch any other horror movie. Ever.

But now, he was forced to watch the movie genre he despised the most.

Yes, he wanted to run out of the cinema, he could feel sweat emerging from his armpits, but he couldn't do this to Emma. If he would do that, he would leave her alone, ruining the date. Fine, he would do it. He would pass the test.

He would do this for Emma.

Just before they entered the cinema, Santino had bought the biggest bucket of popcorn they had, to share it with his beloved girl. But so far, he was the one who took the most handfuls of the sweet snack. It helped getting him through the movie, though. After every scary moment, he would shove a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

Emma herself was enjoying the movie. Sure, she also had a couple of scares at some moments, but she would all laugh it away. Even though Santino was sweating of fear like crazy, watching her smile and hear her sweet laugh... it made this all worth it.

Right now, the movie wasn't that scary at this moment, and Santino just came up with the perfect idea to let Emma know how much she really meant to him. It was super cheesy, super cliché, it was in every romantic movie he ever saw, but it was perfect at this moment. He would pretend he was stretching himself, then lean sideways, stretch his arms and put it around her shoulder. She was so concentrated on the movie, she wouldn't even notice it. Santino could feel his heart beating in his throat (either it was because of the movie or it was because of the nerves, he couldn't exactly figure it out), but he had to do it. This was the perfect moment.

Santino stretched himself, his fists clenched and his arms in the air, faking a yawn. From the corners of his eyes, he checked Emma. Good, she was still watching the movie. Slowly and carefully, Santino lowered his right arm, ready to touch her shoulder. Just a few centimeters away, and he would touch her bare skin. So close...

But just then, the Lake Demon showed his horrific face on the full scream with an ear-deafening roar.

The most high pitched, feminine scream filled the cinema; it was so loud, even if you lived all the way in China, you could hear it.

But it wasn't a woman who screamed, not even Emma.

Santino had jumped up from his seat and landed in on the Australian Diva's lap, shaking like a leaf, sweat pouring down his face, whimpering like a little baby. He clanged onto Emma's neck as if his life depended on it.

Of course the scream caught the other people's attention and some of them got up from their seats, to catch a glimpse of the full grown man lying in the woman's lap, shivering in fear. Soft laughs emitted from several sides of the cinema.

'Santino?' Emma asked, completely caught by surprise. 'Are you alright?'

Santino stopped whimpering. For a moment, he was completely quiet. Then he managed to finally use his voice, even though it was shaky and high pitched in fear.

'Go to the movies, they said... it would be fun, they said...'

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry for the long absence, I had to study a lot for my exams. Hope you are enjoying the fanfic so far, the final chapter will be there for sure! Stay tuned! ;) **


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